Last try to keep painter out of jail

Town officials say using word 'love' violates ordinance.

Town officials say using word 'love' violates ordinance.

October 07, 2008

ROSEVILLE, Mich. (AP) -- Artist Ed Stross faces a stint in jail unless the American Civil Liberties Union manages to overturn his conviction for painting the word "love" on his mural in this Detroit suburb. Stross' long-running dispute with local officials is over his addition of the word to his mural in 1997 in memory of Princess Diana. The painting on the building housing his studio is based on Michelangelo's "Creation of Man" at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Roseville officials say using letters in the mural violates a sign ordinance. They also objected to Eve's bare breast in the painting. "The issue is not Ed Stross," said Roseville city attorney Timothy Tomlinson. "The issue is really a municipality's right to govern their signages. ... Sometimes there's bigger fish to fry, but sometimes the issues are pretty significant, and this could affect municipalities all over the state." "I'm not going to take those letters down," Stross told the Detroit Free Press for a story. He has been packing his paintbrushes and recruiting people to watch his studio and two Chihuahuas, Chico and Princess, while he serves his 30-day sentence. "I have everything all set and ready," Stross said. Meanwhile, The American Civil Liberties Union is working to keep him out of jail. Last week, the Michigan Supreme Court delivered a partial victory to Roseville, saying it could ban the word "love" from the mural but couldn't bar Eve's breast. The high court sent other legal issues back to the state Court of Appeals. ACLU lawyer Mark Kriger filed a motion Sept. 30, asking the supreme court to hear oral arguments in the case. Kriger says if the high court declines to overturn the ruling or hear oral arguments, the ACLU will ask the Court of Appeals to reconsider whether a district judge improperly instructed a jury before it came up with a guilty verdict.